Xiaomi Launches Mi Band 2 With OLED Screen

Gadget manufacturer Xiaomi launched their much awaited fitness band, called Mi Band 2, in China today. The company entered the fitness band market two years ago with Mi Band which was priced at an unbelievable $13. Most fitness wearables cost a minimum of $50, which is why Mi Band was very attractive to people who just wanted to try one out before making up their minds about buying one.

The Mi 2 has some great additional features compared to its predecessor, such as an OLED screen which lets you see the time and notifications from your phone, as well as the step count and the calories burnt.

Xiaomi's VP Hugo Barra posted a series of product pictures on Facebook.

The company says that it has also improved the algorithm of the pedometer so that it gives a more accurate step count. Xiaomi has also included gestures such as lifting of the wrist to skim through the menus onscreen. Like the previous version of the band, this too includes sleep tracking, though with improvements in the software.

Mi Band 2 is going on sale in China on 15 June and the price of the band is roughly Rs. 1,500, or about Rs. 500 more than the original Mi Band. Details of the International launch are not available yet. The wearable space is booming and a report from Ericsson says that the IoT (the Internet of Things) market is going to take over the smartphone market by 2018. Xiaomi is taking the connected space very seriously as they just launched an Android TV box in the US.